Vanaja (2006 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vanaja
Directed by	Rajnesh Domalpalli
Produced by	Latha R. Domalapalli
Written by	Rajnesh Domalpalli
Starring	Mamatha Bhukya
Music by	Indira Amperiani Bhaskara S. Narayanan
Cinematography	Milton Kam
Editing by	Rajnesh Domalpalli Robert Q. Lovett
Release date(s)	September 11, 2006
Running time	111 mins
Country	India / United States
Language	Telugu
Official website
IMDb profile

Vanaja is a 2006 drama film written and directed by Rajnesh Domalpalli as a MFA thesis at Columbia University. It stars Mamatha Bhukya as Vanaja, the 15 year old daughter of a poor fisherman. It was filmed over two and a half months, early in 2005 in rural Andhra Pradesh in South India. It uses a cast of non-professional first-timers and will receive its World Premiere in the Discovery section at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. It runs 111 Minutes and is in Telugu with English subtitles.

[edit] Principal cast and characters

Mamatha Bhukya as Vanaja
Urmila Dammannagari as Rama Devi
Ramachandriah Marikanti as Somayya
Krishnamma Gundimalla as Radhamma
Karan Singh as Shekhar
Bhavani Renukunta as Lacchi
Krishna Garlapati as Ram Babu
Prabhu Garlapati as Yadigiri

[edit] Plot

When a sooth-sayer tells Vanaja, the 15 year old daughter of a poor fisherman, that she will be a great dancer one day, Vanaja's hopes are ignited. Determined, she worms her way into the household of Rama Devi, the local landlady who was once a Kuchipudi dancer in her own right. Matters go well, and Vanaja is on a steadily ascending path, when Shekhar, the landlady's son returns from the US. What begins as innocent sexual chemistry suddenly turns ugly when Vanaja humiliates Shekhar in a public incident. Matters spiral downward propelling Vanaja on a journey from which there is only one exit.